Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) uses the nuclear magnetic resonance phenomenon to produce images of patient vasculature. According to some MRA techniques, a contrast agent such as gadolinium is injected into a patient prior to image acquisition and a series of magnetic resonance (MR) images are acquired as the contrast agent perfuses into the tissues of interest. However, common contrast agents have been linked to nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) and their usage is therefore widely discouraged.
Techniques for non-contrast MRA exist but are susceptible to patient motion. Accordingly, these techniques require external triggering (e.g., ECG, respiratory, etc.) or require a patient to remain still and hold his breath during image acquisition. Moreover, these techniques typically acquire only a single two-dimensional slice image in a given acquisition sequence.
Efficient and effective techniques for free-breathing, non-contrast, non-triggered three-dimensional MRA are desired.